Thinking about national security issues over a club sandwich and plate of French fries is not how I usually spend my lunch hour. However, the nightly news has made me increasingly uncomfortable with how national security issues are being handled in the U.S.

In particular, the lack of concern among Republicans about national security has me both puzzled and apprehensive. I don’t mean to question the patriotism of ordinary Republicans. I have absolutely no doubt about their loyalty and commitment to our country.

As I sit over my lunch, around me I see the living embodiment of commitment to America and its values. Two booths down is a man I know, a Marine who earned three Purple Hearts in Vietnam. In the booth across the aisle is a family whose son went to the same school my children did and served in a special operations unit. In the corner booth, next to the big windows looking out onto Alfred’s Main Street, is a mother whose son was classmates with my kids. He recently graduated from the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School (OCS) and has just been assigned to training as a Marine Corps pilot. And I think of my own son, who just recently began his Marine Corps training at OCS in Quantico, Va.

I have no idea how many others having lunch around me either served or have family members serving. People around here really don’t talk a lot about it. Serving is just something people do.

For the most part, I have no idea what their political affiliations are nor do I care. They are good people and I respect them for how they live their lives, not because of some label someone might want to slap on them.

As I sit, dipping fries into ketchup, I realize that I’m thinking about national security because it is deeply personal — personal to me and personal to those around me. For families across the Southern Tier and western New York, national security is not some abstract issue discussed in Washington, D.C. It is not something left in the hands of people we don’t know or representatives who don’t know us.

National security is intensely personal because it directly involves our sons and daughters, our nieces and nephews, our brothers and sisters, our husbands and wives. All those loved ones who made a commitment to America not just with words but with their actions. Those who have chosen to serve deserve leadership that respects and honors what they have given and may be asked to give.

Unfortunately, I see little such respect from Tom Reed and his fellow Republicans in Congress. Reed, through his action and inaction over the past seven years, has clearly shown his utter lack of concern for active duty military personnel and veterans. He has either supported or been silent when Republicans in Congress proposed changes to the GI bill that would hurt serving military and veterans, planned to scrap the Veterans Administration and hand it over to for-profit companies, or a tax bill that unfairly penalizes New Yorkers who serve their country. Reed and his colleagues in the GOP seem more interested in tax breaks for the 1% who have wealth the vast majority of us can only dream about, while having little interest in looking out for the 1% of Americans who volunteer for military service.

Somehow, it just doesn’t seem fair…give to the 1% while ignoring the 1% who are prepared to sacrifice everything for their country.

Reed has made it pretty clear that he is unwilling to confront those who attacked our democracy and will do so again. While even Steve Bannon calls the actions of some treasonous and unpatriotic, Reed is largely silent. Even when he does speak, it is double-talk designed to defend and protect those people who would work hand-in-hand with those who wish us harm.

It is easy to ignore the present threats to American national security. Yes, terrorism is a threat and terrorist acts can cause deep pain and suffering, but it is not the kind of threat that will bring down the American republic.

The most serious threat facing American democracy comes from an old enemy that is eager to avenge its defeat at the end of the Cold War and intent on humiliating the United States. The Russian threat is just as real as the 9/11 attacks or the Japanese bombing of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The Russian attacks use new weapons, tactics, and strategies, but they are a clear and present danger to the United States. The Russian approach to warfare at the beginning of the 21st century uses information technology as a strategic weapon that may actually be much more dangerous than earlier attacks. Those earlier attacks left dead bodies and burning buildings and ships that shocked Americans into action when they saw the horrific images. Cyber warfare doesn’t have the same shocking images, so it is much easier to ignore. But cyber attacks can have devastating results — through electronic warfare, hackers can bring down vital infrastructure and hack into our democratic institutions.

It is clear the Reed can’t or won’t see the danger, nor do many of his fellow GOP members of Congress.

For more than four decades, I have chosen to stay away from political campaigns. I’ve always been reluctant to endorse political candidates and remain reluctant. However, being silent now, as the United States faces a dangerous old enemy, I cannot in good conscience remain silent.

After carefully considering the field of Democrats, I decided to support Tracy Mitrano because of the clarity of her vision on national security issues and her depth of experience in the field of cyber security. We need people who understand the threat and know how to deal with it. I think Mitrano is that person.

And now that I’ve said my piece, I’m wrapping this up so I can write a letter to my son and tell him how much I respect him and how proud his mother and I are of him.

Peter von Stackelberg is a researcher, writer, and futurist. He lives in Alfred, New York.

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